16 minute read
Education for all
Education Guide
d Winter 2020
Advertisement
Find your brave
Wellbeing is becoming as much a part of the curriculum as maths and English. Find out how it can help you and your school
uperheroes would probably feature highly for most children if they were asked who they thought was brave. However, bravery comes in all shapes and sizes as this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is out to prove. S
The week from 3rd to 9th February invites schools, youth groups, organisations and individuals to take part with one goal to “Find Your Brave”. Bravery is about so much more than just fi ghting evil villains, it can be about fi ghting your own enemies, sharing worries and not being afraid to ask for help. Perhaps you want to try something new or push yourself outside your comfort zone, build your self confi dence, improve your selfesteem and feel good about yourself. Children’s mental health charity Place2Be which provides counselling and mental health support and training in schools, says bravery is all about fi nding positive ways to deal with things that may be diffi cult, overcoming physical and mental challenges and looking after yourself. They believe that children should not have to face mental health problems alone. Place2Be launched the fi rst Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015 to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health. Now in its sixth year, they hope to encourage more people than ever to get involved and spread the word. about the importance of caring for your mental health. Last year, Place2Be worked with 639 schools in England, Scotland and Wales, reaching 364,080 children and young people. In the same year, more than 300 schools took part in Mental Health Champions programmes, equipping school leaders, teachers and staff with the skills and confi dence to support pupils’ mental health. Over 1,600 child counsellors took part in training on various levels, building an ever-growing number who specialise in working with children and young people. The Mental Health Foundation offers The 5 Ways to Wellbeing, a set of actions which have been proven to improve wellbeing, offering a starting point for schools.
Connect Get to know your classmates, it’s a great support network, get together over activities or just tea and a chat.
pastoral care- can you feel it?
New headmaster of Barfi eld School in Farnham, Andrew Boyle talks about the importance of pastoral care for pupils
s a new Headmaster, my fi rst half of term has been spent carefully observing and evaluating the many strengths of Barfi eld School, while also looking for those areas where a fresh pair of eyes might make a difference. One aspect of school life which works beautifully here is the understanding of what outstanding pastoral care looks like. A
With research showing that mental health issues are becoming apparent earlier and earlier in children’s lives, is it any wonder that some parents are putting more emphasis on fi nding a school which places a higher priority on pastoral care and wellbeing?
From your fi rst telephone conversation with the Admissions Registrar, you are immediately making judgements as to the ethos and values of the school and rightly so! However, it is my belief that pastoral care is best measured by ‘that feeling’ you get when you walk in through the front door for the fi rst time.
The cornerstone of a culture of warmth, support and family comes from the people. There is simply no substitute for great staff and certainly no shortcut in the relationships they build with your children. Trust your fi rst impressions, but if you are not sure, take a few moments to look around at the children, as they are always the best ambassadors of a school and its beliefs.
Outstanding pastoral care is not just the responsibility of the named Deputy Head or a policy document to which you refer to when something goes wrong, but it is in fact a commitment from top to bottom, with the understanding that everyone has a signifi cant role to play. Cliche or not, happy children are going to make the most progress and will fulfi l their potential in all aspects of school life.
I do not have the pleasure of having children yet, but when I do, top of my wish list will be to watch them skip into school every day, safe in the knowledge that when they do hit a road bump, the people around them know them inside and out.
d Continued...
Get active
Exercise can be good for your mind as well as your body, whether you cycle, dance, run, swim, jump or walk, it’s a great way to deal with negative thoughts and feelings. Be mindful Take time to check in with your thoughts and feelings, you may notice things you’ve missed, try a yoga session or mindfulness, breathing techniques can be a real help especially at exam time. Keep learning
Lifelong learning is the way to keep the brain healthy, the sense of achievement from learning something new can be great for your mood, or try a quiz or a new skill. Give to others Helping others can help reduce your own stress, improve your own emotional wellbeing and even benefi t your physical health.
● To fi nd out more about how these charities can help you or your school, visit www. childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk and www.mentalhealth.org.uk
FREE TRIAL
1-29 FEBRUARY
Kumon maths and English study can help your child achieve beyond expectations. Book your one-week Free Trial now!
Haslemere
Ability development for any child at any age
Terms and conditions apply. Fees vary. Participating study centres only. Please refer to your local study centre. Subject to availability.
01428 642863
kumon.co.uk
We need you t o volunteer f or us!
Home-Start in Waverley
Do you have 2-4 hours a week to help a local family?
Home-Start in Waverley is looking for kind and caring volunteers with parenting experience.
For more information about our next Free Preparation Course in September 2020 please contact Home-Start in Waverley
01252 737453 info@homestartwaverley.org www.homestartwaverley.org
GET Teaching with the Godalming Learning Partnership and Winchester University GET Teaching with the Godalming Learning Partnership and Winchester University GET Teaching with the Godalming Learning Partnership and Winchester University
Get teaching with our one year School Direct programme. Training with the Godalming Learning Partnership offers the perfect combination of immersive classroom experience in local schools and academic study at Winchester University Get teaching with our one year School Direct programme. Training with the Godalming Learning Partnership offers the perfect combination of immersive classroom experience in local schools and academic study at Winchester University Get teaching with our one year School Direct programme. Training with the Godalming Learning Partnership off ers the perfect combinati on of immersive classroom experience in local schools and academic study at Winchester University Apply now to start September 2020 Find out more at: www.gett eaching.org Get teaching with our one year School Direct programme. Training with the Godalming Learning Partnership offers the perfect combination of immersive classroom experience in local schools and academic study at Winchester University
The Godalming Learning Partnership (formerly Godalming Confederati on) is a group of 16 schools serving the children and families of the Godalming area. We are a strong, collaborati ve group with a long history of working closely together to achieve more for our young people, schools and community.
Story competition winners
Our younger readers have proved to be a very talented imaginative bunch if the entries for our short story competition are anything to go by. We received a great variety of stories demonstrating there could well be some future David Walliams’ and J K Rowling’s out there. Well done to all who took part, here are the winning entries…
Keep Dreaming by Bethan Hopton
Bethan’s entry charmed us for the way she showed how small random acts of kindness can make all the difference, often in the most unexpected ways and how dreams can come true
Sam was cycling down a hill when all of a sudden… ”STOP”. He looked behind him and saw an elderly man next to a road. “Little boy” he croaked “can you be a dear and help me across the road?” Sam fl inched at the world little but he couldn’t help stopping his bike and going over to help the man. He checked the road to see if there was any traffi c. He was used to checking the road as he was twelve. He went out on his own all the time! They walked across the road really slowly because it took ages for Sam to walk whilst carrying all of the man’s heavy bags. Sam checked his watch. He had been helping the man for almost fi ve minutes
20 | JANUARY 2020 and they were barely quarter of the way across the road! Sam sighed as he thought of the football match he had intended to watch when he got home from school. It would be starting any minute! “Did you have a good day at school?” the man asked in a suspiciously high voice. ”I guess,” murmured Sam. Eventually, they got to the end of the road. “Bye,” Sam said and began to climb onto his bike. “Bye,” the old man called after him. When he got home, Sam slumped onto the sofa and switched on the television. He groaned as he looked at the time. He had missed a whole half an hour of the game. “Mum” he called ”can I have a drink?” ”Sure” she answered. The next day at school started normally. Sam met his friends outside the gates and cast a cheeky grin
at Ffi on, his girlfriend who was standing outside the assembly hall when he got in. Everybody was sat down when the head teacher entered. ”So,” she said, “we have a special guest today and I’ll let them introduce themselves.” She walked off the stage and an elderly man walked on. Sam instantly realised that the man was the same man that he had helped yesterday and smiled at him. “Hello,” the man said, peeling off a mask, “I am Harry Kane.” Sam stared at Harry and gasped. He recognised him! “You will be pleased to know that I have chosen Sam Jeffers to be my mascot at our next game because of his kindness to elderlies. I disguised myself as an elderly man yesterday, waiting for someone to help me. Many people ignored me but Sam helped me even though he didn’t seem to particularly want to.” Beeep! Sam’s alarm clock was beeping. ”Are you awake?” his mum called from downstairs. “Yes” Sam shouted back. He quickly got changed in the uniform that Harry had told him to wear and jumped in the car. They got to the stadium early so that Harry could go over things with him. Sam gasped “It’s amazing!” “I know” whispered Harry “Good luck!”
Turning over a new leaf by Elijah Mayers
lijah’s use of description, painting pictures through words made it easy to visualise the story he was telling and again showed the value of being kind and thinking of others E
Sam was cycling down the hill when all of a sudden, his mother appeared by the roadside with her hands fi rmly placed on her hips. He knew straight away that something was very wrong. Sam got off the bike and walked sheepishly with his head down towards his mum. Sam’s mother Simone was a stout overweight woman who always wore clothes two sizes too small. Her face was as round and pale as the moon. Her eyes were cold and blue like the sea. Her black hair was long and thin like liquorice running down to her waist. Simone in her high-pitched voice shrieked at Sam to “Get in the house!!!”. Sam made his way into the house and went straight into the living-room. The house was a mess and Dad lay spread out on the sofa fast asleep. Sam’s dad was a skinny man with a potbelly who loved to wear string-vests. He had thick Ginger hair covering his entire body, making him look like an orangutan. As he slept, Sam’s dad snored. In fact, he snored so loudly that the glass of water on the table next to him shook and eventually fell on the fl oor. Ever since Sam’s dad had been sacked for stealing a pair of pink pyjamas from the warehouse where he worked, all he did was lay around the house snoring like a tractor. Simone soon followed Sam into the living-room and scream at him “What have you done!!!”. Simone went on to explain that the Headmaster’s
offi ce had called her, and they wanted a meeting tomorrow. “I can’t miss work and your dad is useless, so your grandad will have to go with you,” Simone yelled. A wave of fear spread over Sam and that night, he had a horrible nightmare about being told off by the Headmaster. The next day, the doorbell rang as Sam was getting dressed for school. It was his grandad Jonas wearing a bright green suit and a blue tie shimmering in the sun. Sam sighed and let him in. Later at school, the Headmaster’s secretary told them to wait in the Headmaster’s offi ce. Sam was so worried that he started to feel nauseous. A moment later, a tall skinny man entered the room and introduced himself as Mr Pearce the Headmaster. Mr Pearce explained that in the past, Sam had been in trouble a lot of times for bullying. Sam was known for Kicking, punching and pushing the smaller pupils in the school. Recently, Sam has changed his behaviour and now actually helps the other pupils when they hurt themselves. Mr Pearce went on to say how pleased he was that Sam had turned over a new leaf and made himself a better person. Sam nearly fell off his chair when Mr Pearce told him they had awarded him a commendation. When Sam got home, he showed Simone the commendation and she was so pleased that she nearly fainted. From that day on, Sam’s mum stopped shrieking at him and started praising him instead.
Happy eating
Honey Bees Day Care near Farnham has some advice about experimenting with yummy foods to develop your child’s healthy eating habits
ow your child eats today can have a huge impact on their health, food preferences and dietary habits. The earlier you begin teaching them healthy eating patterns, the more likely they’ll be to take these good habits with them into adolescence and adulthood. H
Healthy eating can stabilise children’s energy, balance their moods and prevent illnesses. A balanced diet will also ensure your child gets the essential vitamins, minerals and
nutrients they need for growth and mental development. To get all these nutrients, it is important your littles ones start experimenting with a wide variety of foods from an early age - fruit and
vegetables, beans, lentils, lean meat, oily fi sh, nuts, seeds and whole grains such as brown rice and bread.
A great way to get your children to experiment with food is to make it fun:
● get creative in the kitchen and let your child try different fl avours and textures of food
● try and put different colours of food on the plate so they get a variety of nutrients, turn it inot a game with the colours
● get them involved in the weekly food shop
If they won’t try different foods, don’t worry: the majority of children go through phases with their eating, and their habits will often change over time.
Outstanding nursery
Th e Lime Tree Nursery in Alton is celebrating its top class report
homely setting and an environment in which children fl ourish are just two of the reasons why Lime Tree Nursery in Alton has been rated outstanding. A
The recent inspection revealed four areas in which Lime Tree was outstanding citing the “rich and stimulating activities” which support development and commented on the “exciting opportunities that skilfully prepares them for their future successes”. There was also praise for the qualifi ed and experienced staff, with the report saying: “They are always engaging with the children and make this a wonderful environment for the children to fl ourish.”
22 | JANUARY 2020 sessions, including how to use tools safely and how to cook food on open fi res. The wellresourced outdoor area provides the children with various opportunities for exploration, risk taking and challenge.”
Relationships with parents were also highlighted. The report said: “They liken the nursery to a family and are delighted with their extremely supportive care.” Lime Tree Children’s Day Nursery is set in a home from home, with an enclosed garden, full of nature to explore and with direct access to Anstey Park. Open for 51 weeks, from 8am – 6pm, taking children from birth to school age.
The nursery also welcomes children back during the school holidays for their fi rst year of school, making the transition to school from nursery much easier.
11th January - 18th March, Petworth House, West Sussex. Booking: 0344 249 1895 or nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth
Exhibition Organised by the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Nash, The Sun Descending - Study 3, watercolour and chalk, 1945, detail. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hampshire, Surrey, W Sussex & Berkshire
1. St. Hilary’s School, GU7 1RZ, 01483 416551
2. Practical Philosophy Guildford, GU2 4DJ, 01483 457769
3. Belmont School, RH5 6LQ, 01306 730852
Barfi eld School, GU10 1PB, 01252 782271
5. Aldro School, GU8 6AS, 01483 810266 6. Queen Anne’s School, RG4 6DX, (0)118 918 7333 7. Churcher's College Junior School & Nursery, GU30 7HT, 01730 263033 8. Longacre School, GU5 0NQ, 01483 893225 9. Loseley Fields Primary School, GU7 3TB, 01483 416477
10. Stagecoach Theatre Arts Farnham, GU9 8LU, 01252 216277
11. St John's Beaumont Preparatory School, SL4 2JN, 01784 432428
12. Lime Tree Nursery, GU34 2RL, 01420 370625
13. St. Andrews School Woking, GU21 4QW, 01483 760943
14. Rocking Horse Nursery, GU7 3JE, 01483 860273
15. Coworth Flexlands School, GU24 8TE, 01276 855707
16. Guildford Nursery, GU1 1NR & GU1 4DU, 01483 566589 & 01483 561652 17. Mary Hare School, RG14 3BQ, 01635 244215
d Schools & organisations
www.sthilarysschool.com
www.practicalphilosophyguildford.com
www.belmont-school.org
www.barfi eldschool.com/
www.aldro.org/ www.qas.org.uk/ www.churcherscollege.com www.longacre.surrey.sch.uk www.loseleyfi elds.com
www.stagecoach.co.uk/farnham
www.sjbwindsor.uk/
www.limetreealton.com/
www.st-andrews.woking.sch.uk/
www.rockinghorsenurserygodalming.co.uk/
www.coworthfl exlands.co.uk
guildfordnscc.surrey.sch.uk/ www.maryhare.org.uk
NEWBURY Reading 6
WOKINGHAM Egham 11
ASCOT 15
12
ALTON
13
Woking
ALDERSHOT
5 4 10
16 2 9
GUILDFORD 14 1 8
LEATHERHEAD
3
Companion Suites available so couples can stay together
Be together this Christmas in our companion suites
Make a lifestyle choice with a move to Bramshott Grange with our companion suites now available. We offer quality care in the finest luxury environment, including postoperative rehabilitation, dementia and residential care.
